'This is a different situation,' he said.
'Not really. The feelings are the same whether they are declared enemies or not, and whether we are stealing or reclaiming. Makes you feel a traitor, doesn't it?'
Denser nodded. 'Sort of.'
'Don't feel guilty about it, that's all I want to say,' said Erienne. 'It's only natural. I will forever love Dordover. It is the actions of a few people who have destroyed my loyalty but I have my memories and the hope the leadership will change for the better in the future. You're the same. You grew up under Styliann, Laryon and Nyer. Remember them, for all their faults, and try not to fix on a loyalty you feel you should have but can't recall.'
Denser looked into her eyes, saw the battle going on inside her and smiled.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, stroking her hair beneath the hood of her lightweight cloak. 'I love you.'
'What I understand is that you can't afford to think of any of those bastards in there as your people,' said Hirad.
'Your tenderness is overwhelming,' said Denser, turning his attention to the barbarian. Hirad's eyes were bright and fierce, shining from the darkness surrounding them.
'They will feel none,' he said. 'And you are Raven. We are your people. You no longer belong to Xetesk and you can't afford to wonder why.'
'No, that's not it,' said Denser.
Hirad shrugged. 'Doesn't matter what the reason, if you hesitate once, you're dead and perhaps we all are. If you go in there with anything less than total belief, you won't come out. And I am not losing another mage. Understand?'
Denser chuckled, patted Hirad on the shoulder. 'You know I do. Don't worry about me.'
'I have to worry,' said Hirad. 'Like I've said before, it's my job.'
Near them all, Thraun stood up quite suddenly, staring towards the walls. Next to him, The Unknown and Darrick made to grab his arms to haul him down but he was too quick, taking a couple of paces out into the grass. He growled, sniffed at the air, crouched and turned.
'They talk,' he said.
'Who?' asked The Unknown.
'Listen.'
It was ahead of them towards the walls but left and right, not where the TaiGethen and Al-Arynaar mages were clustered. It was a sound they had all heard before but in the depths of the Calaian rainforest. Growing in volume, everything from low-throated growls to high-pitched yowls and whines, the ClawBound panthers let rip, bringing an alien resonance to the heartland of Balaia.
It seemed to echo from the clouds themselves, reverberate through the brush and bounce from the walls of the city. It was at once beautiful and terrifying, carrying with it the mournful quality of lands lost and the taste of great age and reverence. It sent a shiver through Denser's body and Erienne reflexively tightened her grip on his knee.
Hirad added a growl of his own. 'Didn't they think we were playing fair?' he demanded into the noise. 'So they thought they had to announce we were coming, or something? Make sure everyone was waiting for us once we got inside to make a fight of it? Gods burning, have they no idea of stealth?'
Rebraal appeared by his left side, speaking for them all to hear. 'Inside the city, that sound is clawing at every door. Let me ask you, would you rush outside, sword in hand, or make sure the bolts were across and keys turned in every lock? And those few ClawBound are doing something for you right now. They are diverting every eye on the wall. Now run and don't stop until you can slap stone.'
Hirad chewed back his retort and stood. 'You heard him,' he said. 'Raven! Raven with me!'
The Raven ran in fighting formation, The Unknown at the head of the uneven chevron, Hirad and Darrick to his right, Thraun to his left with Erienne and Denser behind the warriors. Streaking away in front of them was Rebraal, the Al-Arynaar skipping through the thigh-high grass as if it barely covered his feet while The Raven struggled behind, forcing the sinewy stems aside as they came on.
For all it was an effort and he felt as if he were running headlong into the teeth of death, Denser felt exhilarated. The damp air was fresh and chill in his lungs, the sheen of rain on his forehead cooled him and the rush of the grass around him, the breeze in his ears and his friends charging on ahead lifted his heart. He would have shouted but for the folly that would have been.
Panting and out of breath, he made the relative safety of the walls. The last TaiGethen cell was climbing a trio of ropes that dropped from the overhang high above, and the only people left were Rebraal, the Al-Arynaar mages and The Raven themselves.
'Stealth,' said Rebraal. 'When you have learned what stealth means, Hirad Coldheart, then you can question how we do things. The tracks you have made through the grass could be followed by a blind man.'
The ClawBound communication was dying away to echoes on the wind. Denser looked back and saw the dark trails slashed in the grass.
'Hardly matters,' said Hirad. 'Your ClawBound saw to it that they know we are coming.'
'They already knew,' said Thraun, voice a hiss.
'You keep saying that,' said Hirad, his voice quieter now the panthers were silent. 'What do you mean?'
'They saw the battle,' said Thraun. 'They knew we would be coming.'
'He's right,' said Darrick. 'If their commander's anything like a tactician, he'll have seen the change in plans today. Nothing we could do about it. We had to test them. But the mere fact of more guards on the walls tells us all we need to know.'
'Yeah, but they won't be expecting us. Only elves,' said Hirad.
'I'm counting on it,' said Denser.
The Raven looked up at the ropes disappearing into the deep shadow under the overhang. While they watched, the ropes stilled momentarily, signalling the Al-Arynaar to begin their ascent. Not hesitating, three elves hauled themselves up the ropes, making a nonsense of the effort, their lithe bodies ideally suited to the task.
Denser frowned, feeling his heart beat a little faster. Beside him, Erienne shuddered.
'Bloody hell,' she whispered.
'Now at the top, there's a slightly tricky move,' said Rebraal, as if describing a walk along a beach containing the odd slippery patch of rocks. 'You'll have to swing out to grip the decorative ridge then pull yourselves up. There are people waiting to help you so you should be all right.'
'Should,' said Erienne.
'Hmm,' said Denser. He breathed deeply. It did nothing to calm his nerves and the obvious option was already in his mind. 'Sure is a long way up.'
'And down,' muttered Erienne.
'Fair enough,' said The Unknown. 'Here's the order. We'll follow the last of the Al-Arynaar. Hirad, you go with Thraun and me. Darrick, you'll guard the base of the wall until we're clear while you two,' he turned to Denser and Erienne, 'are flying. We can't risk you.'
'You're saying you don't trust us to make the climb?' Denser bridled in spite of the relief he felt at The Unknown agreeing with his thoughts.
'I'm saying you aren't sure you can. Tell me if I'm wrong.'
Erienne shook her head. 'No, you're not.'
'Denser, once you've carried Erienne, bring up Darrick. He should be light enough, unlike the rest of us.'
'I can climb,' said Darrick.
'That's not the point,' said The Unknown. 'We can't spare the time.'
'Whatever you say.'
Denser felt a strong hand clamp around his shoulder.
'Never mind, Denser,' said Hirad. 'We can't all have the muscle and guts.'
'Fuck off.'
Hirad chuckled.
'I'm letting you fall if you slip, Coldheart,' added Denser.
'More pull-ups,' said Hirad. 'Build your upper body and arms a little.'
'In fact, I'm going to cut the rope above you.'
'Just leave him,' said Erienne. 'Don't let him get under your skin.'
'He's already there. Has been for years.'
Denser tuned himself to the Xeteskian mana spectrum, pausing to see the multiple points of focus all over the city, from healings to wards to Communion. One more casting wasn't going to be noticed. He drew in the simple shape for ShadowWings. The basic planar structure, feathered along one edge, was complete in moments.
'Ready?'
Erienne wrapped her arms around his neck, he swept up her legs and they rose up the wall. Denser found his heart hammering in his chest. He kept looking up and could see elves on the ropes, swinging out into nowhere to grab the narrow ridge. Not for the first time, he was glad to have alternative means at his disposal.
He flew slowly, breasting the battlements at snail's pace. TaiGethen were waiting there. Erienne unlocked her arms and was helped onto the wall. Denser descended again to watch The Raven climb.
He found them a little under halfway up. They were all very strong men. Thraun looked like he was born to it, Hirad's teeth were bared as he surged up, hand over hand, and The Unknown, typically organised, used his feet as a brake on the rope while his hands found new grips.
Denser smiled to himself and twitched his position to fly next to the barbarian.
'All right, muscleman?'
Hirad glared at him. He was forty feet from the ground now and the exertion was beginning to show.
'Absolutely fine,' said Hirad between gasps for air.
'I had every confidence.'
'I know,' Hirad grinned. 'I'm me.'
'Yes you are,' muttered Denser. 'The Gods save us all.'
There were no alarms. Denser plucked Darrick from his unnecessary guard duty and deposited him on the wall next to Erienne before watching his friends swing out to the ledge, elven hands helping them as they pulled themselves up.
He landed next to The Raven on the walkway. It was darkened and almost empty of elves. Auum and Rebraal were seeing the last of the Al-Arynaar down the ropes to the muster point. The TaiGethen leader looked over to them and nodded.
'Quickly,' he said. 'There is an alarm further along the wall.'
Denser took one look at the panorama of his city. A place he had loved, still loved, but now he had to class it as an enemy. He shook his head, picked up Erienne and stepped over the wall, dropping steadily. Slowly, the sights were lost to him. The market square, dark and silent; the Park of Remembrance, lawns now surely turned over to crops or grazed by livestock; the iron foundry, still belching smoke and flame; the grain stores, huge and solid and the reason Xetesk could survive famine and now siege. And finally, the seven towers of the college, their target for the night. They could not have chosen one more difficult.
At the base of the ropes, Rebraal was waiting with a TaiGethen elf. Denser was directed to the muster point, floating quietly past the bakery, cold and lifeless, a victim of the war.
Inside the empty house, the raiding party gathered. Denser dismissed his Wings and set Erienne down, moving slowly while his sight adjusted, the assembled elves resolving gradually from the gloom. Twelve TaiGethen warriors, six Al-Arynaar mages, Rebraal and The Raven. About to take on the Dark College.
'Dear Gods preserve us,' he whispered.
'What was that?' Erienne's voice too was barely audible.
'Sorry, love,' he said. 'I'm just imagining what we could face in there.'
If anything, the quiet in the house deepened still further as Auum walked in. He spoke briefly with Rebraal, translating for The Raven.
'One final time, here is what we know from our nights of scouting. The Protectors are outside the gates. Most of the college and city forces are stationed outside the walls of the college. We expect those walls to be heavily defended, leaving little sword strength but much mage strength on the ground. Secrecy for the maximum time is therefore critical.
'But, my brothers and sisters, never forget that we face a powerful adversary. Keep within the Al-Arynaar shield whenever you can. Let Tual guide your senses. We know what we must do and what we must find. Keep your Tais close. This is a jungle like our own; it will show you no mercy.'
While Auum led the prayers before battle, The Raven gathered together.
'Think we'll die in there?' asked Darrick.
'If we pretend we are up against anything less than we are, I think there's every chance.' said Denser. 'And if the Julatsan mana flow fails again while we're inside, the TaiGethen will be defenceless.'
'Not sure you can ever call them defenceless,' said Hirad.
'You know what I mean.'
Around the house, the elven prayers finished. Denser looked into Auum's eyes and nodded.
'You know where to go,' he said.
The TaiGethen led them out into the Xeteskian night.
Chapter 15.
Denser thought he knew his city like the proverbial back of his hand. Gods falling, but the walls had prevented much new building for centuries. He was shown alleys he'd never seen before, walkways he'd thought too narrow to travel, and ways across the city he hadn't known existed.
The playhouse had tunnels beneath it. There was a network of accessways built around the edge of the central market. The north grain store had an outer skin providing gap enough to inch along. And the fact that the city was under curfew proved a gift because the TaiGethen were so quiet. Patrols might have littered the streets but the sound of their passage was like a klaxon from three streets' distance.
It was eerie, Denser decided. Not real somehow. Xetesk was dying. Slowly, but it was dying. Yet beneath the apparent quiet acceptance of that fate, there would be barely suppressed energy. Neither the college nor the city would go down without a fight. The question was, when would that energy erupt?
The raiding party moved carefully, placing quietness above speed. There had been no further alarm from the walls and they could only conclude that the shouts they had heard pertained to something other than their incursion. That was not a state that would last very long. Soon, the guard would change, or someone would open the doors of the guard towers and find the darkness, the blood on the stone, and the disappearance of seven men. If they were lucky, that discovery would not be made until they were inside the college itself.
Denser glanced round at The Raven while they travelled, seeing care and determination on every face and in every step. They studied the ground before every pace, moving in the footfalls of the TaiGethen wherever they could. They walked across mud and weeds rather than stone and gravel, hugged the shadows of every alley and held their collective breath when forced to cross a major thoroughfare. Not even the TaiGethen had a way around every obstacle.
They almost made it undiscovered too. Auum had led the raiding party to the warehousing that bordered the artisans' quarter he knew so well. Despite himself, he'd been impressed with The Raven's ability to move silently. Moving up the alley where they'd killed the guards the night before, he saw that their bodies had gone, though the thieves' corpses remained.